SOUTH KOREA
N Korea flies more trash
North Korea has floated hundreds more trash-filled balloons southward, the military said yesterday, the latest salvo in the two countries’ tit-for-tat campaigns of provocation and propaganda. North Korea has launched more than 900 trash balloons over the past three days, including about 190 late on Friday, about 100 of which have already landed, mainly in Seoul and northern Gyeonggi Province, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The bags attached to the balloons contained “mostly paper and plastic waste,” the military said, adding that they posed no safety risk to the public. North Korea has sent nearly 5,000 trash-filled balloons south since May, saying they are retaliation for propaganda balloons launched north by South Korean activists.
COLUMBIA
Court calls for hippo hunt
The Administrative Court of Cundinamarca on Friday called for the hunting of hippos, introduced to the country in the 1980s by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. The court set a three-month deadline for the Ministry of Environment to issue “a regulation that contemplates measures for the eradication of the species,” which is affecting the area’s “ecological balance.” In their homeland in Africa, the animals are responsible for more human deaths than almost any other animal, but in Colombia, the hippopotami have become loved members of the local community and a tourist attraction. They have also been increasingly posing problems for the local community near Escobar’s old ranch in Antioquia Department — one that experts worry might soon turn deadly.
JAPAN
Hisahito turns 18
In a big milestone for the royal family, Prince Hisahito turned 18 on Friday, becoming the first male royal family member to reach adulthood in almost four decades. It is a significant development for a family that has ruled for more than a millennium, but faces the same existential problems as the rest of the nation — a fast-aging, shrinking population. Hisahito, who is set to become emperor one day, is the nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito. His father, Crown Prince Akishino, was the last male to reach adulthood in the family, in 1985. His status as the last heir apparent poses a major problem for a system that does not allow empresses. The government is debating how to keep succession stable without relying on women.
UNITED STATES
Animal lovers cause crash
Two animal lovers who stopped on a US freeway to rescue a stranded kitten caused a three-vehicle crash — and then lost the cat they were trying to help. The couple on Wednesday spotted the stray moggy as they drove east on the CA-91 near Los Angeles, California Highway Patrol Officer Javier Navarro said. After the female driver pulled over, the male passenger jumped out and grabbed the kitty, while traffic was blocked. “Another car comes up behind them and swerves to the left to avoid rear-ending them, clips the left rear of the last car” sending it careering towards the man holding the cat, Navarro said. “The driver of that car swerves right to avoid the pedestrian, and ends up going across all lanes and hitting a semi-truck.” Meanwhile, the man holding the cat hopped the center-divider to get out of the path of the car — dropping the animal in the process. Three vehicles were damaged in the incident, though no one was injured. As for the cat, “he doesn’t get hit, he doesn’t get hurt. He made it across on his own,” Navarro said.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
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